May 11, 2008 | 11:55am ET
Canadiens, Wild eyeing Yashin? TheFourthPeriod.com
Thirty-five year-old center Alexei Yashin appears ready for a return to the NHL, according to the Ottawa Sun.
The Sun reports the Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota Wild have spoken to Yashin's representatives about signing the free agent veteran.
Yashin, who had his contract bought-out by the New York Islanders last summer and spent this year in Russia, currently has a "lucrative offer" to return to Yaroslavl in the Russian Super League next season, the Sun claims.
"Some teams were asking me about (Yashin) at the under-18 championships in (Kazan, Russia last month)," agent Todd Diamond told the paper. "We had a few teams that were inquiring."
Yashin picked up 16 goals and 27 assists for a team-high 43 points in 56 games with Yaroslavl, and was named league MVP.
"He'd like to get back to the NHL," Diamond said. "He had a lot of success in Russia and he has the chance to return there. I know right now that NHL teams aren't really thinking about the future, (but) he's not going to be around on July 1 because he'll already be committed to going back to Russia."
